Dalliance
by newptune
Summary: Evie never thought she'd be back in Forks four years after an unplanned pregnancy and the ramifications of it drove her away. And just as that wasn't part of her plan, reconnecting with a man she never thought she'd see again wasn't what she expected, but life had its own plan, and it involved Paul Lahote and a pack of wolfs becoming permanent additions to her and her son's life.
1. Prologue

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:_ I'm aware of the fact that I'm really late to the twilight fanfiction bandwagon, but better late than never right? what started as a movie marathon and going down a hole of reading fanfics ended with a lot of plot ideas that I can't resist writing.**

 **So, a quick note about the timeline here, I had to make a few changes to character's ages, but nothing major, and most of them are seen quite frequently in a lot of stories. Paul, Jared and Kim are going to be the same age as Bella, so 18 and seniors during New Moon. I'm sorry if this bothers anyone, but it's what I thought was best for this story.**

 **The story is going to be taking place 3 years after the end of Breaking Dawn, with all canon events staying the same with the exception of Paul imprinting on Rachel for obvious reasons, and Renesmee's existence, the whole thing about Jacob imprinting on the daughter of the girl he was in love with is something I'm just not really a fan of.**

 **Please be aware that that English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any errors, while I've written a lot of things, most of them were in my mother tongue, so if you see something weird just point it out and I'll fix it.**

 **Thank you so much for giving this story a chance sz**

* * *

 **PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK** if she is happy with her life.

Evangeline usually ignores the pitying look that comes with the question, and simply gives the person a bright smile and a confirmation that yes, she is happy with her life. Most people look incredulous after the sincere answer, as if they expected her to break down in tears. She supposes it's because they consider early motherhood as a sentence of eternal misery, as though she can't _ever_ be content because something so life-changing happened without it being planned.

It's not like she doesn't know where they're coming from, but Evie believes every situation is its own, and while many young mothers might not be exactly thrilled, she doesn't like that people assume that _no one_ can be happy if they've given birth before the age of twenty while unmarried.

Evangeline has always been an optimist, a glass 'half-full' type of person. She tries to see the best in life, even when it's hard to do so. This makes almost all that meet her think of her as 'silly' or 'naïve', seeing the constant optimism as failure to recognize that life isn't perfect and never will be, but that's exactly where they're wrong. The biggest reason for Evangeline's positive outlook on life, is that she knows it's not a good world out there, so why not try to balance out the bad by thinking of good things? She takes this personal philosophy by heart, making it a standard for the way she lives, trying to shine light where there might be none in hope that one day, good things might come in return.

So when life gives her lemons in the form of an unplanned pregnancy, Evangeline tries to make the best lemonade she can.

Nevertheless, she would be lying if she said that when she found out she was pregnant, two weeks after a one night stand with the guy she'd been pining over for the better part of a year, she didn't freak out a little bit.

With only her favorite cousin and aunt to count on and absolutely no hope of a relationship with the baby's father, Evangeline could admit that for the first time in her life, she was finding it a tad hard to be optimistic. At the start, it could be said she was eighty percent optimistic, but with every person that cut her out of their life, she started to lose numbers until it was at an alarming five percent and counting down.

But Casper was there, and he never even thought of leaving. Related via their mothers, he could be considered more of a brother than a cousin, Evangeline having practically grown up at her aunt's house in La Push after the death of her mother and the second marriage of her father, going so far as to live there during the week just so she could attend the same high school as him. The young man, nineteen to her eighteen, was her closest friend and confidant, and to this day, the only person that's aware of her child's paternity. He and his mother, known to Evie as Aunt Stella, were the ones that took her in after her father disowned her, helped her through the pregnancy, and finally, with raising her baby boy.

Having grown up in Forks, Washington, the small town wasn't the best place to live as a teenage single mother, so it didn't take long after her son's birth for her to make the drastic decision to move to Seattle. She wanted her child to be raised somewhere he wouldn't be judged by the circumstances of his conception, and so, Evangeline (with the help of her cousin, who refused to not go with her) she rented a small apartment in a relatively suburban area of the city, a feat that she admits could never have been accomplished without Casper.

Her plan was to never return to Forks with the exception of visits to her aunt, but fate had other plans. An unexpected family death forced the girl back to the small town four years after she left, and with that, a reconnection with a man she never thought she'd see again.


	2. ONE: Morning Blues

**EVANGELINE WAS NOT** a morning person.

That made the fact that her son was an early bird, waking up almost at the crack of dawn every morning, a challenge. She supposed it was a trait from the other side of the parental tree that created Oliver, or just a mutation that afflicted the small four-year-old, because in all the years Evangeline had known Paul Lahote, he never seemed like the type to rejoice in waking up with the sun.

The dark haired boy was currently jumping on her bed, possessing the energy only a child could have, while she laid under the covers, awake but not quite willing to leave the comfort of her bed yet.

"Mommy, when is Uncle Cas going to get here?" Oliver asked eagerly, his emerald green eyes shining with excitement.

"Soon sweetie, when he does, we'll head to Auntie Stella's place," Evangeline answered, but she could see that the information he was waiting for had yet to be said. "And then we're all going to the beach so you can play in the sand," she completed, her words making Oliver squeal excitedly.

Evangeline reached her hand towards him, pulling the small boy to lay beside her so she could cuddle him. A giggle escaped Oliver, who didn't wait to pull the covers up so he could be under them as well, almost instantly getting on top of his mother, hugging her in a koala like fashion.

The two laid idly for a while, Evangeline stroking the raven strands that sprouted out of her son's head. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering, the lack of any sort of distraction making it impossible to keep out the thoughts that had been haunting her for the last few days. Ever since her father died and surprisingly left all his possessions to her, she was forced to return to Forks to deal with the ramifications of that revelation. She supposed her stepmother wasn't all that pleased with what her husband's will determined, but Evangeline had yet to see the woman since coming back to her home town, as she apparently went on a last minute trip to deal with her grief, leaving Evangeline and Oliver alone in the big house that was once her home.

Evangeline was nervous to be back after so many years, but not because of the family she'd left behind, well, not hers anyway. The main cause of worry for the brunette was her son's father.

She wasn't proud of this, but Evangeline never told him about the baby. She thought about it countless times, even once going as far as stop by his house in a feat of bravery that lasted a great five minutes, before she lost her nerve and quickly left. The thing was, Paul was not what could be considered father material, especially considering that she was a fling and he didn't even _remember_ her.

However, that wasn't the only reason as to why she never told him. A month after the night they spent together, Paul Lahote changed. He did a complete one-eighty, going from relatively social and outgoing to completely unapproachable and intimidating, joining what was said to be a 'cult' led by Sam Uley. Evangeline never understood what happened to him, but what she knew was that the thought of telling him terrified her. She didn't know the reason for that exactly, but part of it she supposed was that she was afraid he would've asked her to get an abortion. Evangeline would never do it, but the mere idea made her nauseous. She never wanted to have the knowledge that Oliver's father wanted her to terminate him, Evangeline didn't have the _strength_ to know that. She knew it was possible that he could have reacted differently, but with all she knew about him, the odds were not in her favor.

Another fear (smaller than the other when she was still pregnant, and more present now that Oliver was already born), was that he would take him away from her. Evangeline knew that it was unfair to keep Paul in the dark about having a son, but the possibility that he would take her to court over custody absolutely petrified her to the core.

So, while she knows she is being selfish, Evangeline simply doesn't have the courage to do what she knows is right. Her brain might be screaming at her to do it, but her heart is stronger and won't let her.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening, Oliver instantly letting go of her and scrambling out of bed, leaving a tangled mess of blankets behind. Evangeline smiled at the pure glee the boy was in over the arrival of his uncle, although she was sure a big part of it was that in his mind Casper's arrival was associated with a trip to the beach.

Getting up a lot slower than Oliver had, Evangeline went through the steps of her morning routine rather lazily, knowing that Casper was keeping Oliver occupied. Although, even taking her time, she was ready in less than fifteen minutes, being used to a simple morning routine since having to deal with a four-year-old in the morning didn't give her much time to spare.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Casper greeted cheerily as she entered the living room.

"Morning, Cas," she picked Oliver up after the boy jumped off the couch where he was seated next to Casper and ran towards her.

"Are you going out like that, really?" The woman looked down at her simple clothes, not noticing anything wrong with her chosen outfit consisting of dark blue jeans and a light yellow jumper, until she noticed Casper's eyes were focused on her feet, each sporting a different patterned sock, one pink with white polka dots and the other with black and yellow stripes, and laughed as she realized what his complaint was about. "What's so difficult about matching socks Evan?"

"I can never find both of the same pair, and it's too time consuming to try. And besides, they don't even show after I've put on shoes!" Evangeline justified, amused at her cousin's despair over mismatched socks.

Oliver's attention had been brought to his mother's sock cladded feet, and his eyes sparked. "Mommy, can I wear fun socks like you too?"

Evangeline chuckled, bouncing him slightly on her waist so she could adjust her grip on him. "Sure honey, but first let's get you out of those pajamas and into a bath."

"I'll get him ready Evan, you should eat some breakfast so you won't have to wait until we get to my mom's house," Casper said, and she smiled gratefully at him. He knew very well that she needed a cup of coffee and some calories before she could get her day started, and Oliver wasn't the easiest to deal with when you were tired. "Come on buddy, the sooner you get ready the sooner we'll go to the beach."

"You'll let me wear fun socks too Uncle Cassy?" Oliver asked hopefully, making the man smile down at him.

"Of course kiddo."

* * *

"I'm going to go bankrupt when Oliver grows up," Evangeline commented to Casper, the two of them sitting side by side on one of the sofas in Stella Catrel's living room a few hours after lunch. Her son was currently by his great-aunt's side in the kitchen, helping her make cookies while simultaneously eating a snack that Stella had prepared. "He's only four and already has a huge appetite, I'm seriously dreading his teenage years."

"He never stays still, with the amount of energy that kid spends it's no wonder he eats a lot," Casper responded sounding amused. "But I have to agree with you there. Remember how the one-who-must-not-be-named ate enough to feed an army during lunch?"

Evangeline rolled her eyes at her cousin's words. "Yes Casper, I remember," her tone was one of resignation, she knew what he was doing, ever since they set foot on Forks he'd been throwing small mentions of Paul, probably hoping that after a while they would motivate her to go seek the man. "He's not Voldemort though, so no need to throw around that mouthful."

"What am I supposed to refer to him as then, since you insist on keeping his identity a secret from everyone?" He questioned, a teasing expression on his face. "Sperm donor? It's a little crude in my opinion but I can work with it."

"I was hoping you'd stop mentioning him," Evangeline admitted, a pleading look in her forest green eyes, making Casper sigh.

He knew of his cousin's fears, but Casper still thought she should come clean. If it came to it and they had to fight a custody battle, he'd do anything and everything in his power to make sure Evangeline wouldn't lose her son, but he doesn't think it would come to that. He was one year Paul's senior, and from what he knew about the guy, he wouldn't want the responsibility of a child. Casper actually doubts that he would even want to be present in Oliver's life at all, but that wasn't the reason he wanted Evangeline to tell him the truth.

He could see the guilt eating away at her, and Casper hated that. Evangeline was the sister he never had, and from the moment he found out about her pregnancy, he vowed to do everything he could to help her, and that included protecting her from herself.

"You know you can't avoid this forever Evie," his voice was soft, not wanting to seem like he was scolding her. "Better deal with it sooner rather than later, because one day, Oliver is going to wonder who was the other person involved in creating him, and I don't think you want to wait that long."

As soon as he said it, he could see in his cousin's eyes that it wasn't the first time that scenario had come up in her mind. "Trust me, I know. One day I'll have to tell Oliver about his father, and it'll probably be better if when that comes, the man in question is at least aware of having a son," Evangeline acknowledged. "But I can't help being afraid," she admited, the sentence was virtually a whisper, as if she was scared just as much of admitting her fear.

Evangeline was sure the reaction she'd get from Paul wouldn't be a good one, the question of whether he'd want to be a part of her son's life or not and any issues about custody aside, she knew he would be mad. It was widely known throughout their old school that he wasn't the best at anger management, and even the most level-headed person would get heated after finding out they had a child after four years. She was, to put it simply, afraid.

"You're not alone Evangeline," her eyes snapped towards her cousins, he never called her by her name, only when he was truly serious. The only other memory she had of him calling her that was when he told her he'd stand by her side no matter what she decided about the baby. "Whatever happens, I'll be here, ok? So no need to be afraid."

She smiled at him, feeling her eyes burn as tears gathered in them. Quickly she pulled him by the shoulders, giving the man a crushing hug. He chuckled, arms coming around her to return the affection. "Thank you, Cas," she murmured, her voice not having enough strength at the moment to say it with more volume.

"Mommy, Uncle Cas, look at the cookies I helped Auntie make!"

Oliver was carrying a plate with pilled cookies on it, walking as fast as he could form the kitchen without making one of the treats fall to the ground. He settled the plate with a lot of care on the coffee table in front of the couch, before enthusiastically grabbing some of the baked goods and giving one each to his mother and uncle. He didn't have a clue of the conversation that had just transpired, and Evangeline looked at him fondly while accepting the still-warm cookie.

She realized at that moment that no matter what happened, she'd be alright as long as he was too.

* * *

 **AN: this first chapter was going to have the beach part in it too but I thought it'd be too long for the first one, but I'm curious, do you guys prefer shorter chapters like this(1k-2k, this one is just a little over 2k) or longer ones(anywhere from 3k-5k)?**

 **thank you for reading and I'll see you next tuesday 3**


	3. TWO: Eventually, everything connects

**THE SKY WAS FULL** of clouds, the gray mounds hiding the sun and giving a glum atmosphere to the day, but the weather didn't hinder Oliver in his mission to build a sand castle.

Casper was appointed building assistant by the boy and tasked with filling the red toy bucket with sand. The scene was sweet, but also slightly comical, the six foot something man crouched on the beach, making the sand castle that was already not that big in comparison to Oliver look minuscule.

Evangeline observed them with amused eyes, alternating between watching them and reading her book, sitting down in the sand on a plaid blanket a few feet away.

It was during one of the periods of time in which she was paying attention to her book that a group of people arrived, a little girl not much older than Oliver with them, drawing the boy's attention and making him determined to make friends with her, after all, he didn't know any kids in this new place, and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to finally have a friend his age.

"I don't think I'm needed anymore." Casper's voice drew Evangeline's attention from the written words, finally taking in the new scene in front of her. The girl replaced Casper, Oliver and her side by side making a sand tower. "He dropped me like a hot potato."

"Don't sulk, I'm sure he'll be back to showering you with attention later in the day," she smiled at the man that was now sitting by her side. "Besides, it's good for him to make a friend his age instead of having to spend all his time with grownups."

"I know, and I'm glad," Casper nodded, leaning back on his hands. "But I just have this feeling that I think it's what moms feel when they finally go on a date after giving birth and leave their child with a babysitter."

Laughter bubbled from Evangeline, tears of amusement forming on the corners of her eyes. "One would think you're actually Oli's mom."

Casper shrugged, a playful smile forming on his lips. "More like the doting uncle."

"Hey, do you guys mind if we join you?" One of the people that arrived with the girl approached the duo, a friendly smile on his face. "We want to keep an eye on Claire."

"Sure, we don't mind," Evangeline gestured to the free space on the blanket so that they would sit down. "I'm Evangeline, and this is Casper."

"I'm Quil," he introduced himself after sitting down, the three people with him doing the same. "These are Embry, Seth and Leah," he pointed to each person as he said their name. "And that little girl is Claire, she's Seth's and Leah's cousin."

Evangeline nodded in acknowledgment, and Casper waved. "Nice to meet you guys. That boy is Oliver, my son."

All the guys showed some form of surprise at that statement, eyebrows raising or eyes widening slightly. Evangeline smiled faintly, accustomed to the reaction.

"Didn't you use to live here?" Leah questioned, her face void of any emotion as she asked the question.

"Yeah, I got pregnant in my senior year and moved to Seattle a few months after graduation."

Leah remembered the girl, the rumor mill was set on fire by the reveal of her pregnancy, everyone and their grandmother's commenting on her decisions as if it affected them. At the time, it hadn't been long since it was her failed engagement and being substituted by her cousin that was the talk of the town, and it had made Leah sympathetic towards the young mother-to-be, having been on the receiving end of the pity looks and gossip, she knew how horrible it was. There was one occasion where she even stood up for Evangeline, after hearing a particularly nasty comment made by a woman at the local supermarket, her mood was already spoiled from having to share thoughts with her ex and a bunch of hormonal teen boys, so hearing what that gossiping mongrel had said pushed her over the edge, making Leah snap at her.

Meeting her in person was a surprising experience for the female shifter, finally putting a face to the name.

"I remember you!" Exclaimed Embry, his voice filled with enthusiasm. "You were two years ahead of me and Quil," he frowned suddenly, confusion showing on his face. "I don't remember you being pregnant tough."

"I don't think you would, my bump wasn't really noticeable in the beginning, and by the time it was and people noticed, it was summer."

"Not like it was anyone's business," Leah stated, gaining an appreciative smile from Evangeline.

"No, but that never stopped anyone," she shrugged dismissively. "After a while it became too much, always being target to someone's criticism regarding my life choices, and in Seattle, people don't really care, so I moved."

"And you're moving back now?" Inquired Seth.

"I'm not sure yet," Evangeline answered truthfully, not really knowing if she would move back. The house she's going to own in Forks would be a much better place to raise Oliver compared to the shabby apartment they currently reside in, and she supposes it wouldn't be hard to get a job as a nurse in Forks Hospital, but it would mean uprooting the life she took so long to create in Seattle.

"For Claire's benefit I hope you are, she doesn't make friends very easily, and they seem to get along well," Quil observed, his gaze focusing on the two children playing.

"It's the same for Oliver," Casper piped in. "The kid's the definition of an extrovert, he loves making friends, but it's not always that the interest is reciprocated."

"It breaks my heart when that happens," Evangeline said, a frown shaping her features. "He's very sweet, but other children can be mean."

"Yeah, some of them are brutal," Seth commented as if remembering a specific occasion.

"We could schedule a play date for them if you guys are going to be around for a while," Quil suggested.

Evangeline nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile. "Yeah, that'd be great."

The conversation flowed for a while, with an interruption from Oliver and Claire to declare they were official best friends, and to ask permission to play in the water, which was granted as long as they didn't actually go in. The sound of giggles and laughs from the two could be heard from time to time, bringing smiles to even Leah.

"I think I'm going to go for a swim, it's pretty hot for early October," Casper mentioned. "Anyone want to join?"

"I'm freezing my ass off here where it's dry, so no, thank you," Evangeline declined, hugging her legs to her chest.

"We'll join you., Embry got up, quickly ridding himself of his shirt, followed by Quil and Seth. "Leah?"

"No, I'm good."

The quartet swiftly made their way towards the sea, soon entering the water, leaving Leah and Evangeline by themselves. They didn't speak at first, a comfortable silence taking place as they watched the waves crashing on the shore.

"I hope you won't let gossipers prevent you from moving back," Leah said, breaking the silence. "Those types shouldn't have a say what you do with your life."

Evangeline was surprised at the woman's comment, not expecting the candid piece of advice she was giving. Leah didn't strike her as the type to go out of her way to make conversation.

"I let them drive me away once, I'm not going to make that mistake again," Evangeline confided.

"You shouldn't," Leah agreed, an emotion Evangeline couldn't identify on her face. "You should do what's best for you, even if someone might have a problem with it," she continued. "Well, for you and your kid."

A smile formed on Evangeline's lips, she was touched by Leah's words. No one ever really bothered giving advice to her, or said anything constructive with the exception of her own family. Most people were fine with judging, but no one actually said anything that would help. They had no problem pointing out the problems but seemed incapable of advising her on how she might fix it.

Evangeline smiled softly at her. "Thank you, Leah," her words had a meaning beyond what was on the surface, she wasn't thanking just the counsel that was given, but also the intention behind it.

Leah couldn't keep herself from returning the smile.

It had been a while since either of them just sat and talked to another woman, Leah surrounded by the pack and not really inclined to be around the imprints, and Evangeline busy with Oliver, mostly interacting with her cousin and the occasional coworker. It was nice, and they found themselves enjoying each other's company, the time passing by fast.

Both of them sensed the start of a friendship, but neither of them fully grasped how life changing that encounter would end up being.

* * *

"So what's this talk I'm hearing about Leah having a new friend?" Paul said as he walked into the kitchen at Emily and Sam's place, late to dinner because of patrol, since had Quil lost track of time playing with Claire and forgot he had a shift.

He sauntered to the table, sitting on the only seat left and grabbing the plate that'd been set for him. As he started to pile food on it, Emily glared at him, knowing that he would say something that might make Leah shut down just when she was participating in the conversation.

"We met her on the beach a few days ago, she's super nice," Embry mentioned, his mouth stuffed with food, making Leah grimace.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, you idiot."

"Is she blind and deaf? Because that's the only way she'd be unaware that you're a bitch."

If glares could kill, Paul would be six feet under, the concealed chuckles from Jacob and Jared, and Paul's smirk being the only forms of amusement present. Emily's glare had increased, and Embry and Seth were also not particularly amused, both having seen the interactions between the woman first hand and the latter knowing that by the look on Leah's face, thoughts of murder were definitely passing through her mind.

"No Paul, she's not, if she was I'd be afraid she would get involved with you, because we all know that the only way a woman can be interested in you is if she can't get to hear the shit that comes out of your mouth."

Paul's eyes narrowed at Leah, the laughs that this time came from everyone, especially Emily, not helping, but he kind of expected that sort of response after poking the beast.

"She used to go to La Push High with us, she was in Paul and Jared's year," Embry tried to return the conversation to the original topic, hopefully choosing a path that would lead to civil discourse, and keep Leah talking, since it wasn't easy to get her to participate.

"But she doesn't live here anymore, right? I saw her through the pack mind link and don't remember seeing her around," Jared asked.

"No, she moved after having her baby, a few months after graduating," Embry answered.

Everyone that wasn't on the beach that day showed some degree of shock, not having learned the details of the conversations from the pack link. Jacob's reaction was the most dramatic, while Emily's was the one which held the most recognition. "Oh, I think I remember her, Sue knows her aunt."

"She got knocked up in high school? Jeez, at least I was never stupid enough to get a girl pregnant," Paul remarked, earning him a glare from Leah.

"I'm just wondering who was the jerk that left her to go through it alone," Embry commented indignantly, bringing up a point that had been on his mind ever since meeting Evangeline.

No one in the room was pleased with knowing that fact, Sam placing one of his hands on top of Emily's shoulder while hers went to the small bump on her stomach. Emily couldn't imagine what the girl went trough, so young and alone. She knew from Sue that she had some family support, but even then it probably wasn't easy. Leah had a frown on her face, she had wondered the same thing as Embry, even before actually meeting Evangeline.

Jacob was the first to speak up, with a suggestion Leah could admit she liked. "You should find out his name so we can beat him up Leah, it's gotta be someone from either La Push or Forks."

"We could drop him in the middle of the woods and give him a scare in our wolf forms," proposed Jared.

"The wolf thing might not be the best idea, but I won't oppose any form of beating in human form," Sam voiced, giving his opinion in the matter.

Emily rolled her eyes at the guys' antics. "No one is going to beat up anyone!" she interrupted before any of them gave more suggestions. "And I don't think it's a good idea to pressure her into telling, she probably doesn't want to talk about it," she continued, not addressing Leah specifically, but it was clear that if anyone would be asking questions, it would be her.

Leah nodded slightly as if accepting what was said. The conversation soon moved on, but Leah's mind didn't let go of that particular topic. She wouldn't force Evangeline to tell her, but she would try her best to figure out who was Oliver's father.

And then she would beat the crap out of him.

* * *

 **AN: I didn't have time to revise this bc I went on a trip this weekend and my flight was cancelled, so instead of going home on monday morning I had to travel this morning, but I'll revise tomorrow, I just didn't want to not post today since it's the schedule(technically where I live is already two am but since I didn't sleep yet it's the same day in my mind)**

 **I received a few comments on how long it will take for Evie to meet Paul and for the secret to come out, and I wanted to tell you guys that I've already planned every chapter for Dalliance, it'll be around 25/30 chapters(depends on particular scene lengths) and I guess it's more of a slow burn, because they'll meet around chapter five and from there shit goes down, bc there will be imprint things to deal with and the truth about Oli to come out, but for them to be in a relationship it'll be a little more time. I'm not a fan of stories where they met right away and by chapter ten are already engaged or something like that, and since imprinting already accelerates the hole process by a lot I want to take my time with some other things. Don't worry, I won't drag out the story by stalling, everything that'll happens has a purpose and** **will build the narrative for future things sz**

 **I don't know if you guys noticed but I'm a sucker for Leah and female friendships, one thing that annoys me is that Leah is almost always just the bitter bitch on pack stories and barely interacts with the oc, and the girl is usually bffs with Embry or one of the other guys depending on who's the love interest, and that annoys me so much, bc Leah is a great character and I'll fight anyone that says otherwise. AND ALSO more female friendships pls they're so precious**

 **This chapter is about the same length as the first one bc they were going to be the same one, I kinda just divided it, but you guys said you prefer longer chapters, so from now on they'll be over the 3k mark sz**

 **I think that's all, I make long ANs I'm sorry, if you read everything wow ily**

 **see next tuesday sz**


	4. THREE: Past mistakes

**EVANGELINE HATED** Law. Not the actual legal laws, but the course, because lawyer terms gave her a headache. She had never even thought of pursuing that type of career for that alone, having to face the embellished words and very long documents on a daily basis was not for her.

She was sitting in her aunt's kitchen counter, a big cup of coffee by her side while she tried to make sense of all the documents she would have to sign in order to receive the belongings her father left to her. Even with the lawyer's post-it marked pages of where she should sign, Evangeline was having trouble actually doing it, as she refused to sign something without at least reading it first.

The woman was still surprised at the fact her father had gone back on disowning her, not making sense of what was in his mind. The fact he was dead hadn't exactly registered yet, but that was greatly due to Evangeline having mourned him four years ago after she told him about the pregnancy. They had never been particularly close, at least not since her mother died, but his actions had hurt her just like if she'd lost him like she did her mother, perhaps even worse, since it was his choice.

She hadn't seen him in so long Evangeline was used to not having him around, so for her, nothing had really changed, making it hard to associate that before he was still around for her to maybe one day see again, and now isn't.

But Evangeline didn't want to dwell on that though, it would just bring unpleasant feelings. She can't afford to have an emotional breakdown, after all, she has Oliver to look after, and he needs his mother to be strong.

"You're looking at that piece of paper like it killed your cat, Evie dear," Stella's voice sounded from the kitchen's doorway, making Evangeline look up from the text she was trying to make sense of.

"I can't understand half of what's written here," she grumbled as Stella sat down next to her after pouring herself a cup of warm coffee.

"How about I give it a read for you? A few years of having to read through divorce papers made it easy for me to understand those fancy lawyer words," Evangeline smiled gratefully at her aunt, reaching out to hold the hand that wasn't holding her mug.

"Thank you, auntie," Stella returned the gesture with a warm smile.

The papers now set aside for Stella to look over later, Evangeline let out a long sigh, relief flowing through her. Her reading material over the last week had been those papers exclusively, and her aunt's offer gave her a sense of freedom.

The two of them sat side by side while drinking the warm drinks and munching on some cookies leftover from the previous day, neither of them feeling the need to fill the silence with words. It was something they had done almost daily during the years Evangeline had lived there, a routine before their respective duties for the day had to be accomplished, school for one, and work for the other. They hadn't been able to do it in the comfort of Stella's home for years now, for once Evangeline left Forks she never returned, their meetings occurring only in Seattle.

"Morning, ladies," Casper greeted, entering the kitchen and wasting no time to fill himself a half cup of coffee, and then adding milk to complete. "Where's the little menace?"

Evangeline smiled before answering, amusement clear in her eyes. "Miraculously still asleep, he really tired out yesterday playing with Claire."

The previous day, exactly five days after first meeting the young girl and her guardians on the beach had been the playdate she and Quil talked about, him and Claire coming over to the house, where the two children played the entire afternoon, pausing only to help Stella to make cookies and then to eat said cookies along with glasses of warm chocolate milk. After they ate, both of them settled down on the couch to watch a movie, and much to every present adult's relief, they both fell asleep after the third Disney feature they watched.

Quil left shortly after that, carrying a sleeping Claire in his arms and whispering to Evangeline that he would call later so they could make plans for the kids again. Evangeline found very endearing the way Quil looked after that little girl, they both had talked a lot during the afternoon and she'd learned how busy both of her parents were, leaving Claire in the care of her aunt, a close friend of Quil's. Since the woman in question couldn't always be watching Claire, especially now that she found herself pregnant, Quil took on the role, and it was clear to see his adoration for her, him taking on a somewhat paternal role in Claire's life.

Oliver had never had the experience of a full day playing with another child, and it took a toll out on him, as it was clear to see given the fact the early bird had yet to awaken.

"That young man that was taking care of little Claire was such a sweetheart, don't you think so?" Stella commented, directing her question towards Evangeline.

"Yes auntie, Quil is indeed a sweetheart, but a little young for me I think," she knew exactly what her aunt was getting at, Stella had started a campaign for Evangeline to start dating soon after Oliver turned two, and while in Seattle she couldn't exactly try to matchmake her niece, there was no doubt in La Push Stella would spare no efforts in playing cupid.

"One of these days you're going to run out of excuses my dear."

Not if she could help it. Evangeline was fine not dating, she tried briefly in Seattle and gave up when she realized that there weren't a lot of guys lining up to go out with a single mother, and the rare ones that did weren't really appealing, being mostly older than she was comfortable with, or wanting nothing more than a casual weekend.

The closest she'd gotten to having a boyfriend was her coworker Matthew, but in the end, the two realized they were much better off as friends, so they stayed that way. Evangeline's priority in life was Oliver, and she wasn't about to bring into his life someone that wasn't permanent.

"There isn't anyone that deserves our angel anyway, so I'm afraid you're wasting your efforts mom," Casper piped in, ever so gallant, making Evangeline roll her eyes. She knew Cas took the roll of overprotective brother very seriously and vetted everyone that even though of taking his little cousin on a date. Poor Matthew had been at the end of his glares for a whole month before they settled on friendship and Casper himself became friends with the man.

"If I see you chasing off any of Evie's prospective suitors I will drag you to the cliffs by the ear," Evangeline laughed, while Casper pouted at his mother.

"Suitors? Plural?" he questioned, ignoring the threat just made.

"Of course plural, our Evangeline is gorgeous, there will surely be more than one suitable young man after her," Stella responded. "And you won't even think of interfering."

"I'll need to make sure they deserve to be after her first," Casper wouldn't relent, and by now Evangeline was muffling her giggles with the sleeve of her sweater.

"You two are nuts, arguing over nothing, there won't be any suitors," Evangeline knew that in their eyes she was wonderful, but what neither of them seemed to see was that it wasn't the same for the rest of the world's population. She was never anything more than average, in her eyes a little boring even, it spoke a lot of her appeal that the second guy she'd ever slept with didn't remember her. So no, she doubted there would be even one person chasing after her, much less the hoard her aunt and cousin seemed to think there would be.

"Who's nuts is you Evan, you are a little oblivious when it comes to these things," Casper replied. "Like with Matt for example."

Evangeline frowned in confusion. Maybe the milk Casper poured on his coffee was actually liquor. "My friend Matt? What are you on about?"

"You just proved my point, thank you," she shook her head, there was no point arguing with Casper over this, it was probably the milk.

She was distracted by the sound coming from her phone, signaling a text. "Oh, that must be suitor number one. Is it Quil?"

She chuckled at her aunts inquire, shaking her head no. "Just Leah, or is she a suitor too?"

Casper shrugged. "Might be."

"I'm going to meet her for lunch today, you want to come along and question her intentions while holding a shotgun?"

"I'll pass, but if she makes a move you let me know and I'll add her to the list of people to scare off."

"Leah as in Sue Clearwater's daughter?" Stella asked, receiving a nod of confirmation from her niece. "I didn't know you two knew each other."

"We met the same day I met Quil, she's nice," at Stella's raised brow, Evangeline laughed. "I know she's not the friendliest, but we get along well. We've been talking these past few days, and once you get to know her she's nice."

"I'll take your word on it. Take some cookies to lunch and give them to her."

* * *

Evangeline did end up taking cookies to lunch, which Leah greatly appreciated if her devouring almost half of them after the meal was any indication.

The two of them left the diner where they ate, deciding to take advantage of the rare sunny day that occurred to take a walk on the beach. While Evangeline was bundled up, for it was still November and no matter how much sunshine was present the air was still cold, Leah was wearing cut-off shorts, a tank top, and a jacket that was way too thin to actually provide warmth.

"How are you not freezing to death?" Leah chuckled at the brunette's astonishment.

"I'm just naturally warm," she shrugged, using the excuse that while half-assed, was the default one the whole pack used.

"Cas is the same way, Oliver uses him as a personal heater when it's cold," Evangeline commented, not realizing she lit up a light bulb in Leah's mind.

"Your cousin is half Quileute, right?" Inquired Leah, already knowing the answer, but hoping for a different one.

"Yeah, his dad was, pretty sure he's a third cousin or something like that of Quil's."

"He left La Push with you?" at Evangeline's nod of confirmation, Leah's suspicion got worse. But asking Evangeline odd questions wouldn't do anything other than raise suspicion, so she would have to find another way to see if she's right.

As they continued to walk, Leah started to think on how to get Evangeline to open up to her, but was afraid of making shut tighter than a clam. They didn't know each other for a long time, and the last thing she wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. But Leah was a protective person, and she wanted nothing more than to plummet the guy that left her friend to deal with a pregnancy alone. As they arrived on the sandy ground that surround's the sea, both of them taking off their shoes and socks before stepping on the sand, Leah decided that subtlety was not her forte, so why bother with it.

"What about Oliver's father?" Evangeline froze, halfway through taking off the flower print pink sock on her right feet.

Evangeline wasn't expecting such a direct question, but knowing Leah, it actually didn't surprise her. She wasn't one to beat around the bush. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, I'd just like to let you know that if you need someone to just listen or talk to, I'm here," Leah tried reassuring her after a few moments of silence.

"I've never told anyone about it."

Leah shook her head. "You don't have to tell me either, just... if you'd like to get anything off your chest, I'm here," as much as she wanted to learn the identity of the guy, she didn't want to pressure Evangeline into telling her.

"I think I'd like that, actually," Evangeline had never said anything about the situation to someone that wasn't there when it happened, and she knew it was a weight on her chest. Sometimes, just speaking about something has the ability to make you feel better.

The two women sat down on the sand after walking a bit into the beach, far away enough from the water so it couldn't wet their feet.

"I know in your mind you probably think he's a jerk that abandoned me, but he actually doesn't know," Leah's eyebrows rose in surprise, that, she was not expecting. "Our relationship consisted of a one night stand at a party, so it wasn't like we knew each other."

Evangeline took a deep breath, preparing herself to say out loud the events that went on four years before.

"I did almost tell him once," she was looking at the ocean, eyes focused on the waves breaking in the shore while her mind relieved a distant memory. "I stopped by his house about two weeks after finding out that I was pregnant, determined to just come out with the truth right there on his porch. But then he answered the door and looked at me like he'd never even seen my face before," she let out a humorless laugh. "He didn't remember me."

Evangeline sighed, closing her eyes and willing herself to keep talking. She had never told this specific memory to anyone before, not even to Casper. He knew the overall facts from piecing things together, but Evangeline herself had not uttered the words.

"He asked if there was anything he could help with, and I remember not being able to say anything. What could've I had said? 'Hey, you don't remember but we slept together about a month ago and I'm pregnant'?" Evangeline shook her head, opening her eyes and keeping her gaze focused on the horizon.

"Looking back I probably should've said that, and just gotten it over with. But I was scared of what would happen," she could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, and she closed them once more, not wanting them to spill before she could finish telling the tale. "And the thing is, those exact words were on the tip of my tongue. I would've said them, courage that lasted about a second made me start to say it, but then I heard a voice calling for him from inside the house, and seconds later that person was at the door," she took a breath, knowing that Leah was going to think she was ridiculous, and truly, she was. "A girl, in nothing but a shirt that barely covered her torso, hugging him from behind. She even smiled at me. I remember just making a silly excuse that I had gotten the wrong house before practically running out of there and getting in my car."

She opened her eyes, a lone tear making its way through her cheek. Evangeline hated remembering that, she always berated herself about how stupid she'd acted. The guy was a known womanizer, why should she expect anything less than beautiful half-naked women hanging around him all the time? That shouldn't have made her run out of there like a scared cat. But it did.

"Seeing that made me realize that no matter how he would react, I was going to get hurt. And I just didn't want that, I wouldn't be able to make it through if I that happened," more tears followed that first one, the scenery before her nothing more than a blurred image. "It's stupid, trust me, I know," Evangeline said after a brief silence, saying what she knew to be true so Leah wouldn't have to.

A hand touched her arm, the touch making her turn to face the woman sitting on the sand by her side. "It's not stupid," Leah's eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes unreadable to Evangeline, but the intensity of the look made it impossible to deviate her gaze. "What's stupid is you thinking that being scared and not telling him is stupid."

"I deprived him of knowing he was going to be a father because he slept around, how is that not stupid?"

"I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, but you did what you thought was best to keep yourself from breaking. You didn't have any guarantees that he would positively react to the news, and I'm supposing that having him around while you were pregnant but him still getting involved with other women was your main concern, and let me tell you, that would be almost everyone's concern too," Leah's eyes softened, a small comforting smile forming on her lips.

"I made a mistake that day, I should have told him anyway, no matter what would happen," Evangeline regretted that day more than anything, if she just had been braver, things would have turned out differently. Maybe it wouldn't have turned out well, but maybe it would've, it was the biggest what-if of her life.

"After that, I never could manage to gather up the nerve to approach him again, and before I knew it I was giving birth," Evie pondered whether to tell Leah this, a little afraid she'd piece things together, but it wasn't likely that would happen, and she wanted to get it off her chest. "He had also changed a little after that, became more unapproachable, I admit that the things I heard about him made me even more scared. Chance is they were just rumors, but I was pregnant and vulnerable, and wasn't about to take any chances."

"Rumors? About what?"

"Anger management issues," she didn't think he would hurt her, what she knew about him didn't paint that type of image of him, but Evangeline had seen a few of his outbursts while in school and got scared, scared enough that it killed any resolve to tell him. "I know better than to listen to gossip, but I saw him blowing a fuse a few times and it didn't sit well with me. I still think I should've told him, don't get me wrong, but that knowledge made me anxious."

Leah had her brows furrowed, absorbing the things she had just learned from her new friend. The thing that stood out to her the most was how scared Evangeline was at the time, and it made her heart hurt for the girl. She had to face early motherhood by herself, a daunting prospect, and the whole deal with the father was a pure mess. He didn't remember sleeping with her, had another girl over when she tried to tell him, and the cherry on top was the temper. Leah knew that Evangeline felt guilty for having hidden it from him, but honestly, he wasn't really painting a good picture of father material. To not remember a girl you slept with? Was he drunk off his mind or just so that much of a man whore? Leah decided she didn't like him very much, or at all.

"I want to tell him now that I'm back, I just have to think about how to approach the topic, considering that to him, we don't know each other," Evangeline let out a deep sigh, feeling a little bit lighter after having confided in Leah. Only Casper knew these things, and even then, not all of them. "Thank you for listening, Leah, you're a great friend."

That brought a smile to the female shifter's face. It had been so long since she had a friend. She lost everyone after shifting, having to keep the pack secret and the changes that happened from them, but even before, she was already distant from them, ever since Sam had broken her heart. And she could see that the girl in front of her had been through something similar, losing friends due to life changes. But not anymore.

"No need to thank me, I'm glad to listen any time," Seeing bright eyes looking at her, full of affection and gratefulness, Leah couldn't help to confirm the status of their relationship. "That's what friends are for, right?

Evangeline smiled brightly at her, nodding her head. "Yeah."

* * *

"We have a problem."

Leah didn't bother with knocking or even a greeting when arriving at Emily and Sam's house, not that any of the pack members ever bothered, but when it came to her, it was most definitely out of spite. It didn't help that Emily never got upset with her, always smiling like it was Christmas when Leah came by.

"And what would that be?" Questioned Jared. She'd managed to arrive when the guys there as well, so her plan of not being alone with Sam had worked, although it would make it harder to get her point across, so she would need to be very clear.

"A new potential pack member." That managed to get their full attention.

"What? Who?" Jacob was frowning, trying to recall all the people that could possibly shift that they weren't already keeping an eye on.

"Casper Catrel."

"Evie's cousin?" Quil had a shocked expression on his face, having spent a relatively good amount of time in the man's presence.

"The very one. Evangeline said somethings that made me realize that Casper is having almost all the symptoms we had before our first shift."

Quil nodded. "It's possible, his grandmother was my grandfather's cousin. And now we know the gene can be passed to woman, so it makes sense."

Sam had a thoughtful look on his face, thinking about the best way to handle the situation. "We can't know for sure yet, but it is best to keep an eye on him, I'll assign some patrols close to his house." He'd barely finished speaking and Leah was already shaking her head in disagreement.

"No way. He spends most of his time with Evangeline and Oliver, and the possibility of him shifting near them is something we simply can't have. Patrols won't be enough."

"What do you suggest then?" Sam asked.

"He's already friends with Quil, just have him and some of the guys spending time with him. If you sense he's about to shift, make sure he's at least five miles away from anyone he could harm."

"We could invite him to dinner," came Emily's input. She usually didn't speak up during the pack meetings, but she saw on opportunity no one else had. "It makes sense for introducing him to everyone, Leah's already friends with his cousin, so it wouldn't be weird to invite them."

Everyone seemed on board with the idea, Sam smiling at his fiancé in appreciation. Except for Leah. She wasn't exactly thrilled to have her friend met the entire pack, mostly because she didn't want any of them to do something weird and freak her out to the point Evangeline wouldn't want to be around her anymore. But she could see this was a good solution to their problem. It makes it so Casper would meet the whole pack and if he did shift, make it easier on him and the rest of them, not counting the fact that they could make excuses to be around more often to ensure nothing would go wrong.

Leah sighed, a sign of resignation. "Sure, let's do that. But if any of you are weird to my friend, I'll make you feel pain."

* * *

 **.**

 **I'm really sorry for the sudden disappearance, there were some things in my life that happened at the end of last year that threw my life into chaos and changed a lot of my** **plans, and I became really busy, which made writing fall into a very low category in the list of important things to do.**

 **But I still have inspiration for this story, I never lost it, just didn't have the opportunity to sit down and write. I received a lot of favorites and follows during this time away, as well as some reviews, and that made me really happy and motivated to continue writing this. I'd like to hear from you guys your thoughts on this story, I sometimes have trouble writing because since I have it all planned out in my head and know what comes next in the story, for me it feels predictable and boring, and I have a hard time believing someone would enjoy reading it. So,** **if you could tell me your thoughts on the story/chapter, it would be great, it makes me want to actually write and post if I know people enjoy it.**

 **Next chapter things start to pick up in terms of plot, and it won't take long until they meet.**

 **thank you for reading sz**


	5. FOUR: Unexpected encounters

**THE AIR WAS** cold outside, and Evangeline couldn't understand at all how her cousin could stand to be wearing only a thin long-sleeved shirt. She was bundled up in a thermal shirt, a knit sweater, a wool overcoat and a scarf, and she was still shivering. Her son was in Casper's arms, face buried on his neck, wearing just as many clothes as his mother, as well as a dark blue beanie that protected his ears.

They were making their way to the picturesque house where they would be having dinner, owned by Leah's cousin and the same friend that she'd heard mentioned by Quil. Evangeline was regretting not having taken the car, the walk was short, not even ten minutes, but she'd underestimated how cold it would be after sundown. She was definitely going to pester Leah for a ride home, not above using her son to convince her friend.

"This was a really poor decision," she mumbled, hands tucked into her coat's pockets.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, you said Leah's nice, so her cousin must be too, right?" Casper misinterpreted her words, and Evangeline was pretty certain it was on purpose if the teasing grin on his face was any indication.

"I know you don't agree with me on Leah being nice, but Emily has Quil's endorsement, and I know you like him," While Evangeline hit it off with the Quileute woman, Casper had most definitely not. The "bright" side was that Leah felt the same way about him, so no feelings were being hurt. "Besides, Leah's not the biggest fan of her cousin, so that alone should make you like her."

Leah hadn't been too forthcoming about the situation, telling Evangeline about her feelings when everything happened, but nothing of how she currently felt about it. The woman knew a lot of it from the gossip mill, but not the details, no one truly knew what had happened. Evangeline didn't want to pressure her new friend about it, wanting to do as Leah had done for her, and wait until she was ready to share, and when the time came, she would listen.

"That woman looks like she hates everyone, so I'm not surprised," At Evangeline's glare, Casper held one of his hands up in mock defense, the other being needed to hold his nephew. "Don't glare, you know it's true. The only person I've seen her not look at with contempt is you."

"Maybe because I'm nice to her, unlike you," Casper huffed at this.

"I was nice to her! And she insulted me! So, of course, I stopped being nice to her, I'm no masochist."

"She didn't insult you Cas, stop being overdramatic."

"Implying Casper Jr. is small most definitely counts as an insult," he protested, making Evangeline laugh.

"Men and their easily bruised egos," she mumbled, shaking her head.

The trio arrived at their destination, the sun was only beginning to set, but the lights inside were on. There were only three cars in the driveway, and Evangeline hoped one of them belonged to Leah so she would have her ride later.

Evangeline was the one to knock on the door, and not long after it was opened, a beautiful dark-haired woman behind it. She had a smile on her features, one which just got wider as she took in the people in front of her, her eyes sparkling especially bright when setting eyes on the Oliver, the hand resting on her swollen belly caressing it in affection.

"You must be Leah's friends, I'm Emily, her cousin. Come in, it's cold outside."

With the smile still in place, Emily held the door while her guests entered, closing the door and locking the cold out of the house.

"I'm Evangeline, this is Casper and my little boy Oliver." The child in question was still refusing to get down from his uncle's hold, a little shy around a strange adult. "Thank you so much for having us for dinner."

"It's my pleasure," Under the inside lighting, she could now see three scars running down the left side of Emily's face, faded to white over the course of time. Her smile made it so they were barely noticeable, just another feature of her face, but Evangeline couldn't help but wonder how it must've looked when it first happened, and what caused it. "Everyone's in the kitchen, it's at the end of this hall."

They took off their coats and followed Emily towards the noise. The kitchen had a warm feel to it, the atmosphere friendly albeit a bit chaotic, and at the dinner table six people were seated, two of which Evangeline didn't know. As soon as Quil spotted her, he smiled brightly and got up to greet them.

"Evie!" He hugged her tightly, ruffling Oliver's hair after letting go, and patting Casper on the back since he was still holding his nephew. "I'm glad you guys could make it."

"Stop hogging my friend and let me see her," An annoyed voice came from behind Quil, and soon he was out of the way as Leah made her way to stand beside Evangeline. She wasn't one for affectionate greetings, but Evie was, and soon the shapeshifter found herself enraptured in her arms.

Leah didn't push her away, much to the surprise of the others present, but by now she was used to Evangeline's affections, the woman was someone that expressed them in very physical ways by means of hugging or holding hands, and although that wasn't something Leah liked to do, she indulged Evie in it. And, not that she would admit it out loud, but she liked the hugs and demonstrations of affection.

"You know everyone, the ones you probably don't are those two idiots over there," Leah pointed at the unfamiliar figures, the first one looked about Casper's age, sitting at the head of the table and sporting a not too friendly look, but he attempted something of a smile when her gaze fell over him. The other one seemed to be a bit younger, but the only tell was his youthful face, for just as every male in this house, he had an impressive physic. "That's Sam and Jacob."

Evangeline gave them both warm smiles, and soon she and Casper were seated at the table with the others, Sam at one end of the table, on one side the seats were filled by Embry, Jacob, Casper, and Seth while the other had Leah, Evangeline, and Quil. Oliver finally shed his shy manner once Quil fetched Claire from the living room and the two seated themselves on the floor with a variety of coloring pencils and paper.

"I was starting to think that maybe Leah had gotten herself an imaginary friend, with the way she refused to bring you around," the one named Jacob commented, being kicked in the leg by an annoyed Leah as soon as the words left his mouth.

"I didn't want to put her through the torture of your company," Leah snarked back, glaring at him.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure you were afraid she'd like me better than you," he laughed, Casper chuckling beside him.

"Oh that wouldn't happen, Evie is quite enamored with Leah, she would probably give me up if it meant being her friend," Casper teased.

"I'm glad you know where you stand in my list of priorities, I don't want your feelings to be hurt," her tone was matter of fact, but the mischievous smile on Evangeline's lips made the jest clear.

Jacob laughed full-heartedly, directing a prize-winning smile towards her. "I like you already."

Glaring even harder, as impossible as that seemed, Leah emitted a sound that was practically a growl. "Go find a friend of your own," Jacob seemed even more amused by the reaction, while Evangeline reached out to Leah and squeezed her hand.

"Don't you worry, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Conversation flowed with ease at the table, the number of people making it so there were multiple conversations happening at once. Evangeline felt more comfortable than she had in a long time, talking with everyone and laughing at their jokes and stories. Seeing Oliver enjoy himself made her heart burst with joy, and that she could also have fun was such a nice feeling, something that practically never happened, her mom friends in Seattle not really having that much in common with her other than being mothers, and her work friends not really hanging out in groups much, especially considering she was only close to about two people in the whole hospital.

She felt so lucky to have had found a friend in Leah, the rather closed off woman being someone that although Evangeline never expected to be a part of her life, couldn't imagine it without her now that she was in it. Even if Leah wasn't exactly everyone's cup of tea, she was honest and genuine in a way that Evangeline could not help but like, and that she was able to get along with others in her friend's life gave her a sense of belonging.

Unfortunately, it seemed life liked to find ways to burst Evangeline's bubble of happiness.

She had her back turned to the door, but when Seth excitedly greeted the newcomers, Evangeline was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to turn to see them even if she wanted.

"Paul, Jared! You guys are late, the food is almost ready."

Greetings flowed through the room, but all Evangeline could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat, her body feeling cold despite the warmth in the room.

"Sorry we're late, Colin and Brady took their sweet time to relieve us from work," At the sound of Paul's voice, which she knew she would never forget, Evangeline looked at the only person in the room who knew, Casper staring back at her with concerned eyes, in them a silent message to be strong.

Sam waved them off, gesturing to the table. "No worries, just seat your asses down and greet the guests properly."

Jared had taken a seat in the side of the table across from her, while Paul took one on the same side, Quil being the only thing separating her from him. "Nice to meet you guys, Casper and Evangeline, right?" Jared greeted, and it took all she had to look him in the eyes with something other than complete and utter panic.

"Yeah, nice to meet you as well." She prayed her voice didn't sound as she felt and that no one thought it weird she didn't even spare a glance at Paul, the fear of breaking down being far too great to risk it.

"So this is the friend Leah can't shut up about, it's good to finally put a face to the name."

Evangeline didn't know how she had the strength to incline her head toward Paul and give a halfhearted chuckle, but she did. Words, however, were asking too much, so she was thankful when Casper joined in and spared her from having to say something.

After that, Evangeline didn't say anything for a while, deciding to go see if Emily needed any help and quickly leaving the table, Leah following soon after.

Her elbow was caught in Leah's grip, making her turn to face her. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just feeling a little light-headed, I think I might be coming down with something."

Smiling to reassure her friend, Leah seemed to accept the excuse, but it was clear that she was still worried. Evangeline busied herself with helping take the dishes to the table while Leah reluctantly helped Emily take out the pot from the oven.

Soon everyone was more occupied with eating than talking, some conversation still happening, but it didn't look weird that Evangeline didn't join in. She finished earlier than everyone and left the table to make two small plates for Oliver and Claire, Quil joining her to help after practically inhaling his food. The two took the children to the living room where there was a smaller dining table since it was calmer.

"How do you get Oliver to like eating vegetables? Claire hates them."

"At first I used to tell him that he wouldn't get to eat any dessert if he didn't eat all the vegetables, but I got blessed and now he actually likes them."

Quil groaned in frustration. "I tried that, but she looks at me with her big cute eyes and I end up caving."

Evangeline laughed, patting his arm in consolation. "It happens, you just have to be strong and bear that you can't give in every time they're cute, otherwise you'd never win."

"Easier said than done."

The conversation with Quil and the simple act of doing something as routine as feeding her son was helping calm her down, giving the thoughts in her headspace to organize themselves.

She never expected to encounter Paul here, and it was a very unwelcome surprise.

She had hoped that when she'd see him again, she would be prepared to tell him the truth and try to make amends for keeping it from him. But she was far from ready. All she wanted to do was run out the door with Oliver in her arms and never return, but she knew she couldn't do that.

"Hey, are you okay? You're looking kind of sad," Quil brought her out of her thoughts, his voice filled with concern.

"Oh, I'm fine, just feeling a little tired is all. Oliver likes to wake up at the crack of dawn and it was a long day," she smiled sheepishly, hoping he would just let it go.

It was sweet of Quil to worry, by what could she say? ' _I'm feeling terrified because your friend is the father of my child and I've been keeping it a secret from him for four years? Oh, and of course, he doesn't remember me at all?_ ' She could never say that. She couldn't even admit to anyone other than Casper who Oliver's dad was, blurting out to someone out of nowhere was not going to happen anytime soon.

"Do you want anyone to drive you home? I didn't drive here, but both Jake and Embry did, if you want a ride I can ask one of them."

In the midst of everything that had happened she forgot her earlier plan to have Leah give her a ride, but now she was handed the opportunity to not freeze on the way home on top of everything.

"Yeah, that'd be perfect."

The kids finished their meal, Oliver eating his vegetables making Claire want to eat hers as well, which almost brought Quil to tears. They gathered the plates and took them to the kitchen, where everyone was already done as well, but still on the table chatting, the used dishes being taken to wash by Seth, who got the short end of the stick by being the youngest.

"Hey Jake, Embry, can one of you drive Evie, Ollie, and Casper home? They walked here and it's pretty cold out now."

"Sure no problem," Jacob said, smiling. "Do you guys wanna head out already?"

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be great."

"Let me grab your coats then, my car is the red one."

Evangeline made her way towards Emily, who was sitting in the table next to her husband, talking with him and Jared. "Thank you so much for the invitation, the food was great."

Emily smiled brightly and got up to hug her. "Thank you for coming! It was lovely to meet you, hopefully, we can do this again."

Nodding and waving to the people on the table, mostly so she could get away with completely ignoring Paul, Evangeline went to Leah, bending down to hug her. "See you soon?"

"Yeah, I'll text you."

Casper said his goodbyes as well, and Evangeline was going into the living room to get Oliver when she bumped into someone, the person having gone to get a beer in the fridge. Strong arms encircled her, the bottle of beer being held was cold even against the fabric of her clothes, and the free hand gripped her waist to secure her balance. Evangeline knew exactly who it was, and she was cursing the universe for not letting her make an exit without having to directly interact with him. Paul chuckled and was about to say something, but at that moment Evangeline gathered the courage to look at his face, and as their eyes connected, he froze. Evangeline felt her heartbeat quicken, so much that she was afraid he could hear it.

Evangeline felt his arms tighten a fraction, the fingers of hand at her waist digging into her flesh slightly, and for a moment, she was petrified he somehow remembered her and figured everything out, but that was impossible.

Right?

"Mom! Can I have a sleepover with Claire?"

That was like a reality check, and Evangeline quickly got out of Paul's hold, mumbling an apology and bending down to talk to Oliver, trying to breathe and keep her emotions under control. "Not today honey, but we can schedule something for this week, okay?"

Oliver nodded, disappointed but appeased with the promise. Evangeline grabbed one of his hands in hers, turning towards everyone was waving a quick goodbye, instructing Oliver to do the same. She could see Paul out of the corner of her eye, standing in the same place where he was before, but she tried to pay him no mind, wanting to avoid having any more interactions with him.

At that moment Jacob came back with their coats, helping Evangeline put hers on and then helping Oliver, telling everyone he would be back later. They made their way outside, getting into the car, Casper in the back with Oliver because the boy wanted to use his uncle as a heater.

As they drove away, Evangeline breathed deeply, glad to have the night over, one that started out so perfect and ended so horrid.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be better, and Evangeline would be able to gather the courage necessary to tell the truth soon, especially now that fate had put Paul directly into her life again.

* * *

.

 **A whole year, wow**

 **I'm sorry for the super long hiatus, my life went to shit but I'm alive and well, kinda**

 **I'm not sure anyone still cares about updates for this story, but I wrote more so here it is.**

 **Should I keep updating? I received a review from this year and that made me pause and realize that maybe someone would enjoy this, but I'd like to know for sure just in case**

 **Thanks for reading sz**


	6. FIVE: Fire meet gasoline

**PAUL FELT AS IF** he couldn't breathe. He had gotten so caught up on the moment, on those beautiful hypnotic green eyes, that he'd forgotten who those eyes belonged to and what it meant to have gravity move. He never wanted to imprint, Paul wasn't the type of person that _had_ a soulmate. But on those seconds after he gazed into her eyes, the whole world faded away, including any though about ever having not wanted to imprint, or any reminder of the things he knew about the woman whose eyes he now never wanted to look away from.

But he was brought to reality as soon as the voice of a child was heard, calling for the woman that now was the center of Paul's world. And now he couldn't breathe.

If it wasn't for Sam's strong grip on his arm steering him away from the kitchen and out onto the back porch, Paul probably would've stayed rooted in place, absolutely frozen. As soon as they stepped outside, the cold air hit him and he got out of his daze, making the panic was settle in.

He'd just _imprinted_.

And his imprint had a kid.

"Calm down Paul, let's go for a walk, ok?" Sam reasoned, Paul didn't look like he was about to shift, he wasn't angry, just in shock, but the man wasn't taking any chances. Emily had a strong policy against shifting inside after a friendly brawl ended up with some torn furniture, and Sam didn't want a repeat of the scolding.

As they walked away from the back of the house and closer to the woods, the thoughts going through Paul's mind started to become more frantic. He didn't want an imprint and much less one that came with a kid. He wasn't ready for a relationship. He hadn't had one for as long as he'd shifted, even before that he wasn't the relationship type of guy, but ever since he shifted, he didn't sleep around anymore, counting on less than one hand the number of times he had actually been with someone. Shifting changed him, his wolf wasn't a fan of being with any girl that showered her attention onto him, and with all honesty, he'd lost the charm that was necessary for that type of thing. Paul just didn't have the patience to fool around, so he didn't.

But an imprint wasn't anything like that. It wasn't a one night stand or a fling, it was a lifetime commitment, and that wasn't something that appealed to Paul. Or at least he never thought it did, because ever since looking at her, nothing he'd ever thought before seemed right anymore.

"She has a kid Sam! How do you deal with an imprint that has a kid?" His words were rushed, he didn't know how to begin to put his thought into speech, so the first thing that came out of his mouth was the loudest of them all.

"You take care of her and the kid, simple," Sam replied calmly. He understood where Paul's panic was coming from, but in the end, it was still the same as any imprint.

"I didn't ask for an imprint, much less a two for one type deal!" Paul exclaimed, the panic more clear in his eyes. "I don't think I can even be a decent boyfriend, and now I have to be a father too!?"

Sam frowned, he wasn't really liking where Paul was going with this. He'd tried rejecting his own imprint, and that hadn't been pretty, and no way in hell was he going to let Paul commit the same mistakes he did. So Sam was going to have to find a way to make sure Paul stopped freaking out before he did something he would regret. "You'll be whatever your imprint needs you to be, and who's to say what that is? Maybe she just needs a friend, you don't know yet. All you have to do is be there for her."

That made Paul stop walking, a look of contemplation on his face. ' _Right_ , _I can be that for her'._ He could be a friend or a brother to his imprint, nowhere in the description of imprinting did it say they had to be romantically involved. Just look at Quil, he acted as a father to Claire since her own kinda sucked big time, nothing romantic about it. Yes, he could do that. He felt himself calm down with this line of thought, Paul could be an uncle to his imprint's kid, he can manage being an uncle.

"Yeah, you're right," he nodded at Sam, a silent thank you for his help in managing to calm him. "I'll befriend her, be there for her, but it doesn't have to be romantic."

Sam nodded as if agreeing with Paul, but held an amused gleam in his gaze as he looked at his pack member. Right now he knew that this line of thought was helping Paul ease into the idea of having an imprint, but he knew it wasn't going to take long for Paul to reevaluate his stance on the status of his relationship with his imprint. While yes, imprinting didn't have to have romantic connotations, it was extremely unlikely that Paul would be able to keep a strictly friendly relationship with his imprint, unless the imprint didn't want such a relationship for some reason. He just wondered when the man in question would realize this.

"Glad to help," Sam said, a small smile in his lips. He was going to be very entertained by this whole situation, no doubt about it.

* * *

Jacob parked outside of Stella's house, where they would be staying for the night instead of going to the house in Forks.

Casper gathered a sleeping Oliver in his arms, the not even five-minute drive being enough to lull him to sleep. Casper mouthed a goodbye to Jacob before leaving the car, not wanting to make any noise and wake up his nephew.

"Thank you so much for the ride, Jacob," Evangeline thanked him, moving to open the car door.

"Jake," At her confused look, he clarified. "Call me Jake. And it was no problem at all, I'm glad to be of help."

Evangeline smiled, nodding. "Ok. Goodnight then, Jake."

"Goodnight Evangeline."

"Evie," she corrected.

He chuckled, but complied. "Goodnight then, Evie."

She made her way towards the porch, where the door was already open and Casper and Oliver had already gone inside. Taking off her jacket and shoes, she sighed, thinking back on the evening.

"That was some nice flirting."

She almost jumped out of her skin, a hand over her chest where her heart was beating at what felt like a thousand miles per second.

"Don't scare me like that Cas!"

Casper laughed, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"What do you mean by flirting?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I mean all that outside just now, 'Call me Jake' and 'Evie'." She scoffed, astonished.

"You did not just hear all that! You were inside! And didn't you put Oliver to bed?"

"I did hear it, I just have good hearing is all. And mom took him upstairs."

"You have supernatural hearing if you heard us talking, jeez, I'll be sure not to say anything I don't want you to hear if I'm not at least a mile away."

"What could you possibly have to hide from your dear cousin?" He asked dramatically.

Evangeline laughed, shaking her head. "You're impossible you know."

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

Silence fell over them naturally, and Casper pulled her into a hug. He knew she wasn't exactly doing well with what had happened, but that the realization of just what that was hadn't settled just yet. He had worried about her throughout the dinner and didn't miss how she took the first opportunity that she was given to leave. Evangeline hugged him back, burying her face into his chest. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, face still hidden. After a few moments, she let go, breathing deeply and letting the air out. "Right now I just want to sleep and see how I feel tomorrow. I'll talk about it then."

Casper nodded, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. He would wait, and listen, and do anything he could to help his little cousin.

* * *

Leah was furious.

How _dare_ Paul imprint on her friend? She had finally made a bond with no pack connection, someone that was around because of her, and not because of some shitty soulmate.

Of course, she knew no one had any control over it, but that didn't make her less angry at the situation, in fact, it made her more irritated, because if it had simply been a choice of dating between Evangeline and one of the guys, then at least that would've been simply a matter of feelings, and not whatever the fuck decided on imprinting.

"I can't believe that just happened. Paul and Evie? She's way too nice for him," Quil commented, a shocked expression on his face, saying out loud what many, if not most in the room were thinking.

"Maybe that is exactly why," Emily said knowingly.

Embry was pouting, looking quite frustrated. "Man, that's not fair, Paul never wanted to imprint and he did before me? Not to mention having Evangeline as an imprint would've been great."

Leah was about to reply with something nothing short of rude, when the back door opened and Paul and Sam came in. If looks could kill, Paul would be six feet under. "If you hurt her, I will murder you."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Calm down Leah, I don't have any intentions of turning this into a relationship."

At that, everyone present exclaimed different types of confusion or indignancy, Jared and Quil, having imprinted, being the loudest ones. "What the hell man?"

"I don't want one and I doubt she would either, kid and all that. But before any of you freak out, I'm not going to ignore her, no one knows what a rejected bond might do and I'm not keen to find out."

Embry laughed as if Paul had just told a joke. "Sure, make it about how you don't want a relationship and not how you don't want the responsibility that comes with it."

Paul glared at him, not liking the implications of his words. "You don't know shit Embry, and I think it's best if you shut your mouth."

It was like a fire waiting to be lit, and Leah wanted nothing more than to strike a match and see what happened. She was all for Paul getting his ass handed to him, if only for imprinting on Evangeline, but now also because he was being a huge idiot. She knew exactly why he was opting out of a relationship, and it had nothing to do with the fact he didn't want one, and more about how anything with Evangeline came with a relationship with her kid as well. If she was being completely honest, her biggest problem with this wasn't that Evangeline was an imprint, but more being Paul's imprint.

She was spared having to strike a match, however, by Jake's return and him pretty much adding gasoline before setting the fire alight.

"Woah, I left just ten minutes ago and you all are already fighting?"

"You missed something pretty big man, Paul imprinted on Evangeline," Seth explained, munching on some leftovers from dinner as if it was popcorn and the quarrel was a movie.

Jake widened his eyes in disbelief. "No way, you're not serious."

"Yeah, it happened when you went to get their coats, and you had left already while Sam calmed him down," Seth clarified, Jake still looked shocked at the information.

"Well, that puts a wrench in my plans."

"What plans?"

Looking sheepish, Jake shrugged. "I was planning on asking her out on a date, but I guess that's not happening anymore." After hearing that, Embry smirked, and Leah knew in that moment things were going to get ugly.

"Oh that can still happen, Paul said he doesn't want a relationship with her, so you're free to do as you please," Embry said, smiling impishly.

Paul let out what could only be described as a growl, glaring at Embry. "Just because I don't want to date her doesn't mean Jake is allowed to."

"Why aren't I? And that's not really your choice now, is it?"

"What happens when you imprint? You'll just leave her like Sam did Leah?" The woman in question growled at the mention of what had happened, Sam not looking happy with it either, but deciding not to say anything. It was an unspoken agreement amongst the pack that discussing that topic was taboo unless you were directly involved, but it wasn't like Paul ever adhered to rules.

"Maybe I'll just not have a relationship with my imprint like you're going to do," Jake was clearly riling Paul up on purpose, but he was too angry to realize this.

"You were still pining after that leech just a few months ago, I'm not going to let you use my imprint, it doesn't fucking matter if I'm with her or not."

"Don't bring Bella into this, she has nothing to do with it."

Leah knew exactly where this was heading, so many times before had small disagreements turned into brawls in wolf form, since it usually made it faster and easier to resolve conflicts, mind link being a useful tool when trying to make peace, and the canine form being a better way of taking out frustration on someone that could take as much as give. Said and done, Emily made them take it outside while Sam sighed in resignation, being aware that letting them fight it out would be more effective than trying to referee and starting to regret giving Paul any advice at all.

They shifted and whatever was on Jake's mind must've made Paul angrier, because the grey colored wolf pounced on the russet one almost immediately, initiating the physical fight. Leah was too curious for her own good and decided to shift and have a front-row seat to the discussion probably happening.

" _Why don't you just admit you're afraid of the responsibility that comes with your imprint?_ " Jake's argument was precisely what she thought about the situation.

" _I'm not afraid of shit, and fuck you Leah no one asked for your input._ "

" _It's a mind link dumbass, not like I can help it._ "

Jake was not letting Paul deviate from the fight, and brought him back to it by purposely poking where it would hurt.

" _If it's not me, it'll be someone else, do you really think she'll stay single forever?_ "

Paul was done replying to Jake's taunts however, and simply fought the physical fight, his thoughts way to jumbled for it to make any sense. It got to a point where it was apparent things were not going to improve by simply letting them beat the shit out of each other, the moment Paul bit deeply into one of Jake's legs being when both her and Sam took action, her and Seth going to restrain Jake, and Sam restraining Paul with the help of Embry and Quil.

" _That's enough! Jacob, whatever Paul does with in relation to his imprint is his business, even if that is fucking everything up!_ "

Even if most of the time, alpha commands didn't work well on Jake due to him being the true alpha but renouncing the position, on times like this, when he knew he was not in the right, Sam's commands worked as with every other wolf.

" _And you Paul. Quit being riled up by every comment you dislike, and whether you like it or not, you have an imprint now, and you better come to terms with that before you do something you'll regret._ "

After that, both of them were let go, and Sam saddled them with extra patrol shifts, together, just so they would have to be in each other's company and suffer for as long as they decided to keep the stupid fight going for.

Everyone shifted back, and soon most people had gone back inside, leaving Paul who was still steaming from the altercation, and Leah, who wanted to give him a piece of her mind.

"I don't care about your issues Paul, but try to be serious about this, she doesn't need any more hurt in her life," Leah was trying not to be too rude since Paul was more likely than not to start another fight if provoked.

Her words caught his attention, and he met her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"You have a tendency to not take things very seriously, and to shrug off responsibilities where you can," she shook her head, seeing he was about to say something in protest. "Don't even start, you know damn well I'm right."

Paul stayed silent, a frown taking up his features.

"If you don't want a relationship, fine, but don't you dare think that is an excuse to neglect Evangeline." Leah had never been a fan of imprinting, and she doubts she ever will be, but she would be damned if the person that imprinted on her friend didn't commit to it one way or another, because if there was someone that deserved to be cared for in that way, it was Evangeline.

"I wasn't planning on ignoring her."

"Good, then you are at least going to start off in the right direction."

Paul looked strangely pensive, which was a good sign in Leah's book, given how he usually didn't give much thought to things before he acted, being someone that acted first and asked questions later.

"It's like I'm divided. Half of me wants nothing to do with this, I don't even know her, and the responsibility of a kid is not something I ever thought about," If Leah was in any doubt that Paul was disconcerted by imprinting, the fact he was confiding honestly in her was enough to convince her of that. "The other half wants nothing more than to do anything and everything to make her happy, and to take care of her _and_ her kid."

Leah understood where he was coming from, being a shifter was almost like being two different people sometimes, instinct fighting with the mind on certain things, imprinting being one of them in this case. One of the reasons the whole situation with Sam hurt so much even after she shifted and was told the whole story, was that she knew then that he didn't just stop loving her all of the sudden, but that instinct overcame mind in that instance.

"Get to know her then, that is a good starting off point. You don't have to commit your whole life just yet, we're not completely wolves after all."

Paul stayed silent for a few moments, thinking over her words. "You're actually good at giving advice, way better than Sam anyways."

Leah scoffed, crossing her arms. "Yeah well, don't make a habit of this, I'm not going to have a heart to heart with you again any time soon."

He smirked, amused by her discomfort. "Thanks Leah."

"Don't mention it." Leah turned to go back inside. "Seriously, this never happened."

She heard him laugh, and simply rolled her eyes.

Hopefully, things would turn out alright, and she wouldn't have to kill Paul for being an idiot.

* * *

 **i'm honestly blown away by how many reviews I received since last updating, it's so good to know that there are still people that are interested in this story, and that you actually like my writing, it really motivates me**

 **i hope you guys like this chapter, it kinda gained a life of it's own at one point, mainly jake's part on it, and now i actually like his character after writing him a bit, which took me by surprise**

 **not sure where that is going yet, but don't worry, love triangles are not in my plans for this story**

 **i revised the chapter twice but knowing me there are probably still some mistakes, so if you see any let me know**

 **thank you so much for all the favorites and follows, and ofc the reviews, they really make my day sz**


	7. SIX: Bad liar

**IT SEEMED** every time Evangeline decided to bake something, a key ingredient would be missing.

She adored the activity but ended up giving up after seeing there wasn't enough sugar or flour to get it done. This morning, however, she was not going to let that stop her from having pancakes.

At first, after waking up, she had thought the previous night had been nothing but a dream, or rather a nightmare, but soon reality came crashing around her, and Evangeline realized that it did happen, and that now she was probably going to run into Paul more often than expected, especially since her expectations had been no run-ins at all.

Evangeline couldn't stop thinking about if and when to tell him, not to mention how she would do it. So many scenarios ran through her mind, but all of them were less than ideal.

The most prevalent was that he wouldn't believe her, think she was crazy and just wanted to pin her child on him, and after probably some legal action and DNA tests, she would have a horribly broken relationship with him, and that would end up affecting Oliver. Not to mention it would hurt like hell to be humiliated like that, to have your word mean nothing and your past mistakes be analyzed.

Another thing that could occur is him believing her, being incredibly mad, and wanting either nothing to do with Oliver or wanting custody all to himself. Both of those would completely destroy her, the latter more than the former, but still both undesirable.

There was the perfect scenario of him being understanding and them figuring a schedule out for Paul to get to know his son, and a healthy co-parenting relationship being built, but Evangeline was not going to fool herself into thinking that was remotely likely to happen.

She sighed heavily and tried to take her mind off the whole situation, focusing on the shelf in front of her to find the specific flour she liked to use instead. When she found it, a little above her reach, Evangeline got on her tiptoes to try and get it, huffing when she couldn't. She was about to search for an employee for help, when an arm reached out from behind her and grabbed the pack of flour.

It was like the universe was trying to mess with her, because in front of eyes, extending the flour to her, was Paul Lahote.

"You looked like you could use some help." He smiled, the same damn smile she had imprinted on her mind so long ago.

She knew she was staring, but Evangeline was a little shocked that she found herself in this situation not even twenty-four hours after she had first seen him again. She had to wonder for a second if she wasn't still dreaming.

Apparently he took her silence for irrecognition, because he gave a sheepish laugh. "I'm Paul, by the way, we met yesterday, remember?"

That brought her out of her shock. "I remember you," Not only from yesterday, but sure.

Paul chuckled. "Right. Well, here is your flour."

She took the pack from his hands, trying to give him a small smile in return for his help, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace. "Thanks."

Evangeline put the item in her basket and turned to continue her task, but as she walked towards the end of the aisle she noticed Paul started walking with her. She raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"So, what's the flour for?" He sounded a bit awkward, or maybe that was her feelings being transmitted into the interaction.

"Pancakes."

"Do you like pancakes?"

She had to give a small chuckle at that, he sounded weirdly genuine in his question. "Yes, otherwise I wouldn't make them."

"Right, that's true."

The silence that followed was nothing short of uncomfortable, and Evangeline wanted nothing more than for it to be over.

"Don't you have shopping to do?" Maybe she sounded rude, but she was freaking out, this was the first conversation she had with him in almost half a decade, and only one party was aware of their shared parenthood.

"I only needed this," he showed what was in one of his hands, a pack of roasted coffee beans.

"So, checkout?"

She was sure Paul got it at this point unless he couldn't take a hint to save his life, but for some reason was really invested in having a conversation with her. "I wanted to talk with you a bit."

Evangeline was terrified at that moment, that maybe he did remember her, and wanted to question her about Oliver. Part of this was due to the weight of carrying the secret around, it was impossible to do so and not become a tad paranoid that someone knew and was out to get her.

"What about?"

"Just to get to know you," At her frown, he tried to explain himself. "You seem like a nice person, anyone that manages to handle Leah already has my respect."

She was at a loss, Paul wanted to get to know her? Whatever for? Oh God, this was becoming more of a mess every second that went by. Evangeline couldn't do this, she needed to get out of there as soon as possible. If she though seeing him after all this time was bad, then directly having to talk to him was hell. She needed to figure out a way to tell him first and foremost, before she died of her own guilt.

"It's not as hard as you would think," She took the first sugar packet that she saw, completing the small to buy list of groceries. "Well, I'm done here, so getting to know me will have to wait, Oliver is miraculously still asleep and I want to get back before he wakes up," Evangeline said, rambling a bit in her nervousness.

"Oh, alright." Something that she could've mistaken for disappointment showed in his eyes, but she knew that was impossible, why on earth would Paul be disappointed with not being able to talk to her? He certainly never had any interest to do so before.

She forced a smile, nodding, and went as fast as she could without outright running to the cashier. Paul went to the one being her, and Evangeline could feel his eyes on her. She hoped he would just head wherever he was going since he was done before her, but just as she dreaded, he was standing outside, waiting for her.

"I thought maybe I could walk you home?"

Evangeline didn't know how she was still functioning. Why was he being so nice? She would feel way less guilty if he was a jerk like she remembered.

"No need, my aunt's house is just around the corner."

She felt like she just kicked a puppy by the look on his face, but she couldn't do that.

"See you around, then." Not if she could avoid it. "Hope you enjoy your pancakes."

Thanking him and turning around, Evangeline started walking back to her aunt's place, and it wasn't until she got to the porch that she let the situation fully dawn on her.

Yesterday's events coupled with this morning's was way more than she could handle. From not having seen him in years to twice in less than a day, and being faced head-on for the first time with the fact that he was completely unaware he had a son because of what Evangeline choose to do, she couldn't take it.

Tears started running down her face, and she sat down in one of the chairs in the porch to calm down and recollect herself. Putting her hand over her mouth to avoid being heard and causing any worries, she sobbed, at a loss on what to do.

The whole thing was her own doing, had she never hidden the truth she wouldn't be in this situation, but she had, and know she needed to find a way to fix it. She just didn't know how to go about it.

Evangeline knew one thing for certain though, and that was that she could not stand to see Paul again so soon. She needed time to think about what to do and what to say.

* * *

Paul didn't know what he did wrong, but he was sure he did something if the way Evangeline hightailed out of the store was any indication. He could sense her discomfort throughout their interaction, mostly nervousness, but he didn't understand why she was so uncomfortable in his company. She should feel something of the pull of the imprint, shouldn't she?

He knew it was stronger for the shifter, he had to actually restrain himself at times not to do things that would have no explanation other then him being a creep, such as hold her hand or carry the basket for her. Friends did that, right? So he would still be adhering to his mindset of absolutely no relationship of the romantic kind with his imprint.

A part of him didn't want to give any attention to the pull he felt, being somewhat annoyed at how the situation was out of his hands, and that now someone he didn't choose was so important to him. But he knew that was impossible, the simple thought of doing that was unpleasant, and truthfully, even if disconsidering the bond he felt, he didn't want to end up hurting his imprint. He hadn't been around when Sam first shifted and imprinted on Emily, but it was clear that both of their reluctance to accept the bond between them contributed to what happened.

He was trying to do what Leah advised him to, get to know Evangeline before jumping into the whole complete devotion thing, but it was hard to do that when he couldn't even strike a conversation without her running away.

Did she not like him?

The thought sent an uncomfortable feeling through him, a sharp pain in his chest.

Paul knew he wasn't the most likable of people, the popularity he had before he shifted was more due to his looks than personality, and after shifting it wasn't as if his way of being improved. He had the most trouble out of the pack when it came to controlling his temper, and he wasn't one to measure his words or try and be polite.

If he truly thought about it, it made sense Evangeline wanted nothing to do with him, even as a friend, especially taking into consideration that she had a kid to think about. What kind of role model would he be to a child? Definitely not a good one.

She had every right not to want to be around him, but unfortunately for her, Paul was too damn selfish to simply ignore the imprint.

* * *

Evangeline could admit that her plan was not a good one.

Quite honestly, she didn't really think much about it, but instead found herself denying invitations to hang out from anyone from La Push, and made Casper take Oliver to play with Claire so she could avoid going and possibly seeing Paul.

She usually said she was busy, which was technically not a lie, she did have meetings with her lawyer, and a few errands to run to get the house she now owned more suited for her and her son, even if she still didn't know for sure if they would be moving. But she wasn't necessarily doing those things when other things were happening, mainly where it involved being around anyone that was associated with Paul.

That meant Evangeline was also not being a great friend to Leah. She knew this, but thought that keeping distance was better than constantly acting like a mess of a person while she thought of a way to come clean.

Almost two weeks passed, ten days to be exact, before her actions caught up with her.

"Care to explain why the hell you're avoiding me?" Leah's voice was angry as she cornered Evangeline. She had annoyed Casper for a solid thirty minutes before he gave in and told her where his cousin would be that day.

"I- uh, I'm not avoiding you," Evangeline replied, trying to conceal her nervousness.

Leah's face formed a scowl, she could hear the other woman's heart speeding up, but even without her enhanced hearing, she could see the anxious expression on her friend's face clear as day. "Yes, you are!" She was trying to remain calm, but could already feel her hands tremble due to anger. "I thought we were friends you know?! But here you are, avoiding me like the plague and lying to my face about it when I confront you!"

Evangeline could feel her eyes start to burn as she heard Leah speak. She knew this confrontation was coming, it wasn't like she was being subtle about her actions in trying to evade spending time in the reservation, but realizing her avoidance was hurting the person she considered her best friend was like the cut of a knife right through her heart.

Leah took her silence badly and jumped to conclusions, her temper flaring, and a growl almost coming out of her lips. "If my friendship is such a burden to you that you had to stop coming by the Rez so you wouldn't have to deal with me, why not come out and say what's on your mind instead of this whole ' _busy_ ' act?!"

Evangeline's eyes widened at Leah's words, her heart clenching from the alarm she felt at comprehending what the woman thought this was about. "What? Your friendship is not a burden Leah! Where on earth did you get that idea from?" she exclaimed, her voice high. "You're right, I'm avoiding you, but not because I don't like spending time with you!"

"Then why?" The look on Leah's face was still hostile and her voice hard, not convinced by Evangeline's denial.

"I'm trying to avoid going to the Rez in general, having to avoid you was collateral," she started, pausing to collect her thoughts about what exactly she would say to Leah. Evangeline doubted anything short of the truth would suffice, so in a bout of courage, she took a deep breath and continued. "Well, actually, I'm avoiding Paul."

Leah's eyes narrowed, confused over the admission. She raised an eyebrow and look pointedly at Evangeline, conveying that she wanted an explanation.

"When I started to hang out with you guys, my mind failed to make the connection between Sam and Sam _Uley_ , so I had no clue that you were also friends with Paul."

Leah wouldn't go as far as to say she was friends with him, but she could see why Evangeline thought that, making the correction would just arise questions seeing as she had no clue about the pack, and one could argue that was worse than being mistaken for a friend of Paul's. "And I can't handle being around him, especially when I'm hiding the truth from him! The guilt makes it unbearable, and the fact he is trying to be friendly is even worse."

"I'm going to stop you right there because I'm not following." Leah interrupted. She'd thought at first maybe Paul had made Evangeline uncomfortable by coming on too strongly, but apparently, that had nothing to do with it.

"Do you remember when I said to you that I'd never told Oliver's dad about him? That the guy didn't even remember being with me?" She was hugging herself to keep her hands from shaking, eyes focusing on anything but Leah.

Leah couldn't believe what she was hearing, her eyes narrowed further, trying to make sense of the situation. "Wait, are you saying what I think you are?" At the sight of the other woman biting her lips and nodding slightly, she couldn't help but let out a scoff, shaking her head in disbelief. "Paul is Oliver's dad?"

Evangeline didn't answer with words, only nodding her head, more firmly this time. The tears that she thought were under control started to trail down her cheeks, but she was still silent, waiting for what Leah would say.

"Shit." Is all that Leah says, before marching towards Evangeline and pulling her into a hug, making the crying woman start to sob.

Leah didn't know what to say, she definitely wasn't expecting that revelation and saying comforting things was never her area of expertise, so she figured a hug was the next best thing and something she could do. Actions were a much easier way for the female shifter to communicate, her words always ending up sounding too harsh in moments like these.

"I'm sorry for not telling you." Evangeline managed to say after a few minutes in her friend's embrace, her sobs now controlled and reduced to sniffles. "I panicked when I saw him that day, as soon as I was out of there all I could think about was making sure I didn't have to see him again anytime soon. When I kept seeing him again, it just made things worse and my first thought was to try and avoid that by any means."

"Don't apologize for freaking out, I get it." From all she had learned from her friendship with Evangeline about her son's father, she knew it wasn't an easy topic for her to talk about. "But I admit you could've handled the situation a bit better."

Evangeline sighed, pulling away from the hug so she could face Leah. "I know. It's just that I've been agonizing over telling him from the moment I came back, but I never thought I'd come face to face with him out of the blue like that. Seeing him in person after all this time—" she didn't know how to put it into words. How was she supposed to make sense of the fact that he had made her knees go weak, and not because of shock from the sudden meeting, but because her heart fluttered and his gaze made her flustered. It made her feel like the stupid school girl she was all those years ago, infatuated with him. "It was too much."

Leah knew part of that was from the imprint, that the humans still felt something of the bond even if it was very dimmed compared to what the wolf would feel, but given the context of the situation, she also had a feeling that Evangeline was simply affected by him because of the night they spent together, coupled by the fact that he was her son's father. It was honestly a clusterfuck, and if Leah, who knew more then Evangeline about the whole situation at this point, was confused, she couldn't begin to think how her friend must be feeling.

"I get that," Leah said, still holding on to Evangeline. "But you know you have to tell him, right?"

Evangeline nodded, wiping some of the tears with her sleeve. "I just don't know how to do that."

"I'll help you with that, don't worry," Evie's eyes refilled with tears, and she looked at her friend gratefully.

Leah wasn't sure how things would turn, but she'd do her best to help Evangeline. All she knew was that her friend wouldn't have to face it alone.

* * *

 **so, hope you guys liked this chapter, I'm thinking of getting a beta but I'm not sure how to go about it, so if anyone has any suggestions please either leave a comment or PM me :)**

 **Thank you for all the favorites and follows, and thank you, of course, for the reviews, they motivate me like nothing else, and it's wonderful to hear your thoughts on the chapter**

 **to the guest that was so passionate about the fact that the wolves can't fight their imprints, I am in fact aware that sm wrote it in a way that the wolf is automatically in love, but I find that superficial, a love that is just because the person is your ' _soulmate_ ', and not because you actually love who they are as a person.**

 **You don't love someone as soon as you set your eyes on them, and it was something that always bothered me about the whole imprint aspect of the original books, which is why I am exploring a side that while yes, they are controlled by their instincts and need to protect their imprint, the person doesn't automatically love a stranger just because destiny said so**

 **as for Sam and Emily, we never actually saw the situation unfold, and from what I understand, the comment about Sam's father was more of the breaking point then the whole reason, and I went for a little of interpretation of the situation**

 **I'm sorry if you're mad at that, but at the end of the day, it's my _fan fiction_ , and you're always free to write one yourself if you're so offended at what I choose to do with mine**

 **anyway, moving on from that, thank you everyone again for reading, and until next time**


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